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EUGENE KORSUNSKY

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 9

C O N N E C T I N G . E L E V A T I N G . I N S P I R I N G .

S I L I C O N V A L L E Y

Photo By Hyunah Jang

2 • October 2019 www.realproducersmag.com • 3

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09Publisher’s

Note

25Star on the Rise

08Meet the

Team

30Profile:

Igor Reznikov

40An

Industry Icon:Carol

Burnett

20Partner

Spotlight: In-Health

ClinicJennifer Walker

34Profile: Mary Clark

44Game

Changer: Daniel Rumer

15Cover Story:

Eugene Korsunky

C O N T E N TSTABLE OF

DISCLAIMER: Any articles included in this publication and/or opinions expressed therein do not necessarily reflect the views of N2 Publishing but remain solely those of the author(s). The publication contains paid advertisements by local companies. These companies are not endorsed or specifically recommended by N2 Publishing or the publisher. Therefore, neither N2 Publishing nor the publisher may be held liable or responsible for business practices of these companies. NOTE: When community events take place, photographers may be present to take photos for that event and they may be used in this publication.

If you are interested in contributing or nominating a REALTOR® for certain stories, please email us at [email protected].


Nothing is as expected. And that is the expectation.

Real Producers has been a long jour-ney, and I couldn’t be here without the support of the top real estate agents and the business profession-als who support you. Thank you.

Sometimes it feels like I am building the plane while it is flying.

To get here...both through my busi-ness journey as well as with my flight took some turbulence. Launching my first Real Producers market in 2017 was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. It’s even a lil odd to look back on those days and believe how challeng-ing it was because of how great things are today. Can’t we all remember

I’m writing these thoughts as I sit in the hotel room of a Hyatt miles from ORD in Chicago. It’s the start of day 2 of a 3-day conference for Real Producers. Yes-terday was a very special invitation reserved for the top 20 in the RP world, and I was invited.

I was on the first flight out of SJC and what was the start of a simple 4-hour direct flight became complicated by weath-er delays. It took over 5 hours for us to get in the air, and by the time we were ready for descent Chicago weather wasn’t great, and the turbulence was unique. Worst ever. Oy. We landed with a bit of a story to share. It was a mem-orable flight.

A plane is off course 99% of the time. It corrects from the moment it leaves the ground until the moment it lands.

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a time when something new didn’t happen with the ease we expected? In my case, my previous successes were both my strength and my weakness. Only certain lessons from them would serve me, and I had to learn what would be applicable one idea at a time. It turns out the big ones hold true. Have gratitude. Contribute. Have an abundant mindset.

Mostly, I wrote this message because as I was on that plane yesterday, I found calm. I had an optimism that being off course was actually being on course.

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EUGENE KORSUNSKYTHE RENAISSANCE MAN

EUGENE KORSUNSKY

Photography by Hyunah Jang

Written by Zach Cohen

cover story


The uncle of Eugene’s wife has long owned a handful of rentals near Santa Clara. Eugene recalls their early conver-sations about real estate with a smile.

“I would sit there, and I would literally pester him: Why would you invest? How do you calculate your returns? Why would you buy this property ver-sus another one? I would bug him every time we saw each other. He finally got fed up with it and said, ‘You know what, If I give you some of my properties to manage, will you leave me alone and stop asking so many questions? I’ll pay you $500 per month.’ It gave me a great opportunity to learn.”

“He’s still one of our clients, and I still come to him with questions,” Eugene continues, “but he’s paying a lot more than $500 a month now.”

FINDING HIS NICHE

After receiving his bachelor’s degree, Eugene didn’t go directly into the real estate industry. Instead, like many others in the Silicon Valley, he began building a career in the technology

world. Eugene held various business man-agement roles and had a talent for delegat-ing and negotiating in the world of Silicon Valley tech. Along the path, he decided to arm himself with a master’s degree, and in 2010 successfully obtained his MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management.

Drawing on his rental management expe-rience, Eugene and his future wife scraped together every penny they had to purchase their first investment property near Santa Clara University. Real estate was always in his vision, and even while holding demand-ing roles in tech, he continued to manage his uncle’s properties, gaining valuable rent-al property operations experience.

Although his high tech career was on a strong growth path, when 2014 arrived, Eugene knew it would be a pivotal year. At this point, his side business managing properties had grown to about 65 doors, and he was closing about $12 million a year in real estate sales. He and his wife agreed that a few months after the birth of their first child, when she returned from mater-nity leave, Eugene would look at leaving the high tech world and make real estate his full-time gig.

EEugene Korsunsky has always been

fascinated with real estate from the

investment side. From a young age, he

was enthralled to discover the answers

to some of his biggest real estate

investment questions: why to invest,

how properties appreciate, and how to

leverage investments.


I am extremely proud and excited about

where we came from and where we are

today.

“”

The pair have since started an additional business effort; in 2016 Intempus Builders was formed to be able to help their clients get their homes ready for the rental market, sales market, or help their clients with any of their construction and remodel-ing needs.

LEVERAGING MARKETS

In 2018, Eugene saw a need to provide his clients with an alternative investment model. While the Silicon Valley real estate market is one of the hot-test in the world, Eugene has found that from an in-vestment perspective, it’s not always the ripest for growth. With a steady view on how to best leverage his clients’ investments, Eugene has expanded his reach, extending the business to the mid-west. He formed a new entity called Intempus Real Estate Portfolio Management, a business unit focused on identifying high performing secondary markets, acquisition, and professional management.

“How do we position and leverage a real estate as-set to its fullest potential?” Eugene questions. “The Bay Area is a fantastic market for appreciation. But it’s not the best market for cash flow. California appreciation historically has been 9%. That’s great when you sell.”

But for rental properties and investments? There are often better choices. In Indianapolis, Eugene has found an ideal cash flow and appreciation balance.

“I was able to find other alternative properties here [in California] to start. Condos and town homes, and other higher ROI properties. We help a lot of clients go out and purchase these types of proper-ties,” Eugene recalls.

That moment came sooner than anticipated. Eu-gene recalls, “I was sitting in a meeting with my CEO and boss, talking about a project that is on the verge of losing money for the tenth time, my phone was blowing up with issues on my largest transaction to date, which was a $3 million luxury home in Willow Glen. And I sat there and realized that the high tech role was going to cost me more money then it was worth.” Immediately after the meeting, Eugene called his wife and nervously they both agreed the time had come, so one month away from giving birth to their first child and with his wife on maternity leave, Eugene submitted his resignation notice and said goodbye to the high tech world for good.

“I am extremely proud and excited about where we came from and where we are today,” Eugene explains. By 2018, Intempus Realty had grown to have over 65 employees split across three compa-nies, operating in two states, with over 1700 units under management and a sales pipeline of roughly $75 million.

Eugene sets his goals high: his target is to have 2000 units under management by 2020 and own 1000 units himself by 2022. To date, the company’s slowest growth year was about 40% growth, with most years around 100%.

When asked about his proudest achievements, how-ever, Eugene didn’t point to his growth or company statistics. Instead, he cited a great team of employ-ees that have been created at Intempus, client suc-cess stories, and overall love he has for real estate.

“Most employees here, when they wake up in the morning, are happy to come to work. That’s one of my biggest accomplishments. There is a sense of energy at Intempus. People are happy here.”

AMAZON OF REAL ESTATE

During the grand opening ceremony for Intempus’ new office in San Jose, in front of the mayor of San Jose and a group of close clients, employees, and friends Eugene recalls telling everyone, “We want to be the Amazon for your real estate needs.”

One of the visions that Eugene and his business partner Michael Khesin have had is to be able to support a client’s needs from A-Z when it comes to taking care of their most valuable assets.

“But we haven’t been able to find properties that made as much financial sense [recently].”

Eugene explains that the numbers in Indiana just make more sense for the majority of his investment clients. While real estate costs are driven to all-time highs by primary residents and a booming economy in the Silicon Valley, the mid-west presents an alternative landscape.

“Here, there is a lot of emotion in it…. You build emotion into the acquisition. An investment property shouldn’t have that emo-tion,” Eugene says. “I’ve become desensitized in general. For me, it’s become an asset. I’m on the extreme, but the most successful investors are going to look at the details of the deal… as opposed to getting more emotionally attached to the property.”

When first starting this Indianapolis venture, Eugene quickly understood how vital good property management is and econ-omies of scale. After almost running two properties into the ground with the aide of unprofessional local managers, Eugene decided to move a key employee to Indiana and start building his own local property management team. Through this exercise, he set up some milestone goals that he believes will be critical for

his success in these markets. His primary goal is to hit 1000 units under ownership/management before looking at the next market, which he hopes to enter by 2022.

As a San Jose local, Eugene grew up in the Cambrian neigh-borhood and attended Leigh High School. He loves his home-town as much as anyone else, but when it comes to real estate investment, he’s looking out for his clients’ financial interests, first and foremost. And as he found, other markets have been able to deliver better ROI for his clients.

HOME LIFE

Eugene’s home life is no less exciting than his fast-moving career. In the almost five years since he has left tech, Eugene, along with his wife Samantha, have bought and sold three homes, welcomed three handsome boys into their lives, and are awaiting the arrival of their first daughter, due in Septem-ber of 2019.

As Eugene cites, there has been a lot of work, a lot of late nights, a lot of grind -- but he believes he is truly blessed with his career, his family, and the Intempus family that he and Mike have created.


In Health Clinic and

Light & Joy Acupuncture

DR. JENNIFER WALKER Integrated Health Care

us -- stress, food, daily habits, emotions, commu-nity, and genetics, to name a few. When we are in balance, our energy, digestion, sleep, and other body functions operate effectively.

At In Health Clinic and Light & Joy Acupuncture, Ly, Jennifer, and Yoevita treat acute symptoms, find root causes of health issues, and foster prevention and life skills to create wellness in our lives.

Integrated Roots

“Our vision is about where we come from,” Dr. Walker explains. “Yoevita was born in Indonesia and grew up with Chinese medicine being part of life. I grew up at a farm and there was a similar thing. I remember getting a tummy ache and my grandma making a licorice tea. It was part of our life. I never thought about eastern versus western; it was just common sense medicine.”

Dr. Walker has a blog called Farm Girl Medicine, bringing common sense remedies and practicality to health through weekly doses of knowledge and insight.

At In Health Clinic and Light & Joy Acupuncture, there is also an understanding that each individ-ual’s health is unique. As a result, they take the time to connect with their patients personally and individually. They recognize the strengths of both eastern and western medicine and leverage the benefits of both.


partner spotlight“Our dream was always to be an integrated clinic where patients can go and maybe not know the an-swer to their problem, and we can guide them to a practitioner in-house or even externally because we pride ourselves as being good referrers,” Dr. Walker explains. “We play well in the sandbox.”

Integrated Health

“Our focus is family practice,” Dr. Walker explains. “That means we have extra training in pregnancy and pediatrics. A lot of clinics don’t want to deal with preg-nancies or children under four. Everyone here can handle this, and enjoys it.”

Dr. Walker also notes that she sees a lot of injuries. In the Silicon Valley, the injuries often occur on the job, rather than while playing a sport.

“The most important message for busy real estate agents is that using common sense and integrating it with health so they can keep working, keeping standing all weekend, can be as simple as scheduling a massage or getting acupuncture to deal with pain in the busy season. Pain is not something you want to ignore, because it can be progressive. Our goal is to keep you in the game. Just like an athlete.”

Dr. Walker notes that her clinic is ex-cellent in dealing with stress, neck pain, headaches, shoulder issues, low energy, hormones, and pregnancy.

After almost a decade, In Health Clinic and Light & Joy Acupuncture have solidified a local name for offering integrated health that can keep you balanced and ready to live life to its fullest potential.

For more information, please visit in-healthclinic.com and lightandjoyacupuncture.com.

DR. YOEVITA

WRENSCH:

SHE LOVES GOOD

QUALITY SOCKS.

DR. LY HO:

HE IS AN

ULTRAMARATHONER

WHO HAS NEVER RUN A

MARATHON.

DR. JENNIFER WALKER:

YOU’LL OFTEN HEAR

HER TALKING TO

PATIENTS ABOUT

GRASSROOTS

REMEDIES. ONE OF

HER FAVORITE TREATS

IS BLACK LICORICE. AS

SHE SAYS, “YOU CAN

TAKE THE GIRL OUT OF

THE FARM, BUT YOU

CAN’T TAKE THE FARM

OUT OF THE GIRL.”

FUN FACTS

“There have been grandmas’ remedies that have been around for thousands of years through acupuncture and tra-ditional medicine. We wanted to integrate that. How can you use common sense health to make patients lives better?”

In 2010, Dr. Jennifer Walker and her husband, Dr. Ly Ho, opened In Health Clinic with a vision of providing good medicine and facilitating an active partnership between providers and patients. Together, they dreamed of creating an integrated health clinic. At In Health Clinic, they have accomplished just that.

Dr. Walker, Dr. Ho, and their Chinese medicine partner at Light & Joy Acupuncture, Yoevita Wrensch, LAc., believe that individualized health care gives the patient the power to create true health – in their body, mind, and spirit. The strength of integrated medicine is its potential to treat our whole health bodies. Our bodies are never static; they are constantly in motion, moving in and out of balance. Integrated medicine seeks to restore and maintain health. Both internal and external factors affect


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Determination & Perseverance

Photos by Anita Barcsa


star on the rise

ELENA


Elena Licari, a real estate agent with the Joe Velas-co Group at Compass, is also a fire engineer for the City of San Jose. She has always been interested in real estate, but the decision to pursue it as a second job came about after meeting her husband, Tony, a builder, developer, and licensed general contractor with 20+ years of experience.

“When we met, he said, ‘Hey, I hope you’re ready for this crazy ride. I’m about to start remodeling this house that I’m in,’” Elena says. “I was all on board and helping him with demo and having fun. It really bought us closer together. It was really special to see that house come together.”

Elena realized she wanted to get into real estate when one of their agents was talking about comps.

“I wanted to know what a comp was and how to do it,” Elena says. “It dawned on me with my time schedule, ‘Why don’t I take on this role?’”

J O U R N E Y T O R E A L E STAT E

Elena went on to obtain her real estate license and expressed her excitement about it to the people she worked with at the firehouse.

“Before I knew it, I had a couple of co-workers that asked me to help them buy and sell,” she says. “And then I had an amazing mentor, Tom Khorram, and that’s how I got into it.”

Elena began getting opportuni-ties, started meeting people, and learned the value of doing open houses and networking.

“It’s interesting watching it all happen from the outside,” Tony says. “When she first started doing real estate, every company, brokerage, wanted her to be on their team.”

H A R D W O R K L E A D S T O G O O D T H I N G S

Elena’s interest in real estate has since evolved into a deep passion for the field.

“It will be midnight, and I’ll have to pry myself away from work,” she says. “I’ll wake up ready to go. I’ve been so excited about real estate and all the stuff I have to do.”

Determination and perseverance have been key factors in Elena’s journey to becoming a firefighter and real estate

agent. At 18 years old, after participating in a Middle College program for two years, she did an accelerated EMT program and

found great mentorship, which jump-started her path. She then worked as an ER tech in an emergency room, went through the fire science program at College of San Mateo, volunteered for the Menlo Park Fire Department, attended paramedic school, started testing, and then was hired in the first class of 30 people off the list out of thousands who took the test at the San Jose Fire Department.

“It was extremely challenging,” Elena says. “I knew there was no option to fail. I was going to do it.”

That can-do attitude was also exhibited when she was younger, especially with her involvement in martial arts.

“That really gave me focus,” Elena says. “For the first time as a child, I found my own power and learned that if I worked hard, showed up, and was consis-tent, good things were going to happen to me.”

Elena went through the ranks and became a black belt when she was 16 years old. She also excelled in sports while in school; she went to the champion-ships for cross-country and track, and wrestled.

“You went till you broke, and when you broke you made sure you didn’t give in,” she says. “And then you kept going. It was a physical and mental push.”

Elena’s strong work ethic was influenced by her par-ents. Elena and her family immigrated from Ukraine and left as refugees, having to seek asylum due to political reasons and the Chernobyl disaster. Her mother had gone through nursing school and also taught music, while her father, a civil engineer by trade, worked odds and ends jobs until they got back on their feet.

“They hustled,” Elena says. “From an early age, I saw that and learned that. I also had this feeling inside of me that I never wanted to ask my parents for money or things because of how hard they were working for it.”

R E A L E STAT E S K I L L S

In addition to a strong work ethic, Elena’s commitment to being a team player has helped her as a real estate agent.

“I’ve always liked collaboration,” she says. “That’s what I really love about being a part of a real estate team. The Joe Velasco Group ranked in the top 1% nationwide per the 2018 Wall Street Journal REAL Trends, and #177 out of 1.4 mil-lion agents based on sales volume. I am on a team of seven, so my clients get the support of seven agents. This allows me to successfully manage both of my careers while provid-ing timely and quality service to my clients. Being a firefighter is incredibly rewarding, and I love helping others.


A N I TA B A R C S A

( 6 5 0 ) 2 1 8 - 9 6 0 6A N I TA @ A N I TA B A R C S A . C O M • A N I TA B A R C S A . C O M

S P E C I A L I Z I N G I N FA M I LY, N E W B O R N , C O R P O R AT EH E A D S H OT S & L I F E S T Y L E P H OTO G R A P H Y

One of the other beautiful things about this career is also that when I check in, it’s for a 48 hours shift and then I am off for four days straight, allowing me to be off most week-ends. At times, when I check in to the firehouse, I can count on Joe and the team to respond to my clients while I save lives. I do the same when he goes on vacation with his family to Disneyland, saving his family life,” Elena says with a laugh. “My team and I fully support each other.”

“With my fire crew, we’re always together. We’re always collaborating. We’re rolling up to a fire. We’re all putting our brains together like, ‘Hey look out for this. Look out for that. What’s our task? What’s our objective?’ The same goes for my real estate team – not only are you able to elevate yourself because you’re constantly bouncing things off of each other, but you’re always there for your client. You’re able to help them in a different way because you have differ-ent perspectives.”

Elena is also a great communicator.

“When communicating with clients or people... I always try to think of what way I need to be right now for them to understand what I’m saying or for me to communicate what I need effective-ly,” she says.

T H E P OW E R O F T H O U G H T

“Whenever trying something new, you have to step out of your comfort zone and expand your way of thinking. That is one of the things I love about embarking in real estate; you have to think quickly and be solution-oriented. This process also really reinforced my beliefs in the power of your thoughts. Everything starts with a thought and that thought is a powerful first step in creating what will happen in your reality.”

“Whatever we declare that we are going to do, I just do it as if there is no opportunity to fail,” Elena says. “I think about how is what I’m doing good energy and how is what I’m doing helping others. I love it just when I am able to make people smile. That always makes me really happy.”

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Roll with the Punches

Photography by Hyunah Jang

Written by Jessica Frere

After graduating from the Uni-versity of California, Berkeley in 2002, Igor began job hunt-ing in an economy still reeling from the dot-com crash. While many job seekers struggled to find employment, he managed to leverage his economics degree to secure a position with 7-Eleven’s corporate office. However, no amount of education could prepare him for his initial training role: Store Manager to a drastically underperforming Daly City franchise.

“There were drugs sold, there was a pawn shop, there was a homeless encampment in the back. There were just all sorts of bad things happening,” Igor shares. “So 7-Eleven took the store away from the franchi-see and said, ‘Here you go.’ This was my training without any structured program.”

Despite its challenges, Igor quickly learned the ropes of convenience store manage-ment, survived his training period, and was promoted to District Manager of over

a dozen San Francisco Bay area 7-Eleven stores. He developed a knack for partnering with franchisees to increase their stores’ sales and profitability. His role’s flexible sched-ule (the better his assigned stores performed, the less he worked) was difficult to give up, and he remained with 7-Eleven for six years.

Eventually, with no local oppor-tunities for upward mobility, Igor left 7-Eleven in pursuit of an en-trepreneurial career. As a natural extension of his retail management skillset, he decided to acquire his real estate license and become a business broker, buying and selling convenience stores.

In 2009, he joined Business Team, the largest business brokerage firm on the west coast. However, once again, the economy was in a state of upheaval. As a result, the Small Business Administration (SBA) loans that are used for business financing disappeared. Despite relentless cold calling and ultimately securing 10 listings, Igor failed to make any sales by the end of his first year. Knowing it was time to change course, he came up with a life-altering plan.

profileIgor ReznikovIgor Reznikov is a man of many strengths. However, the greatest of these might be his ability to roll with the punches.

“I thought, ‘Since I already have my license, I should try out residential real estate.’”

Soon, he joined Zip Realty, since acquired by Realogy, largely due to their policy of reimbursing agents for all business expenses. He discovered that partnering with enthusiastic, first-time home buyers was a breath of fresh air compared to the stressful interactions he managed as a business broker. However, after witnessing his first client collect a 20% post-property purchase rebate, he began to question whether Zip’s commission structure fit his needs.

“The rebate that my client got was more than the commission I earned from the sale,” Igor laughs. “So that’s when I learned exact-ly how their cut and all the fees work.”


Soon afterward, he parted ways with ZipRealty in favor of a more lucra-tive gig. After several unconvincing conversations with area brokerages, Igor concluded that no opportunity could satisfy his long-term career goals quite like owning and operat-ing his own business. So, in 2010, he launched RezRealty, a boutique, residential real estate brokerage.

As is often the case in real estate, Igor’s first few years were slow (he only had three transactions his first year and five his second).

“At the time, I knew very little about how to grow the business and become successful,” Igor explains. “I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Sometimes that helps, sometimes that hurts.”

Slowly but surely, his naivety turned into expertise. By his fourth year in business, a stream of returning clients and referrals started pouring in, and they haven’t stopped since. Today, in its eighth year, RezRealty is undoubtedly on an upward track. Last year alone Igor completed 30 trans-actions, which amounted to nearly a third of his brokerage’s lifetime sales.

He attributes his success to two key decisions. The first was to accumu-late a healthy nest egg to serve as a buffer during RezRealty’s outset. This extra financial padding allowed him to focus on building positive client experiences during the busi-ness’ early years, unlike many cash-strapped new agents who desperately need transactions.

“Being strapped financially creates a very different mentality, whether it’s being pushy, or whether it’s suggest-ing something that isn’t truly in the best interest of your client,” Igor

shares. “I’ve been very fortunate where I was never in that place to begin with. I always put my clients’ interests ahead of my own. That’s just what I’m supposed to do as an agent, and that’s the foundation of my success.”

Additionally, Igor has consciously placed honesty and authenticity at the core business. This shines through in many ways, from his refusal to engage in buyer-broker agreements (“If a buyer doesn’t want to work with me, just let me know.”) to his laid-back selling approach (“I don’t rush people, and I’m not here to convince my buyers to buy a particular home. I’m here to educate them on the positives and negatives, so that they can then decide what makes sense for them.”).

Judging from his success, it’s not surprising that Igor has big plans, both professionally and personally, for 2019 and beyond. After working solo for years, he has hired his first administrative team member and plans on targeting more property listings. He also aims to spend more time with his wife and kids (a 3-year old daughter and an infant son) as well as renovate his own recent real estate purchase: a property four doors down from his current Camp-bell home.

With a promising, albeit busy, future on the horizon, Igor remains hum-ble, hopeful, but mostly, thankful for the winding journey that led him to the entrepreneurial career he’d always dreamed of.

“I’m really happy that I ended up in real estate. It was a random path that got me here, but I really love what I do.”

“I’m really happy that I ended up in real estate. It was a random path that got me here, but I really

love what I do.”


“I never really dreamed that I would be behind a computer pro-gramming day in and day out,” says Mary. “So, it was an awesome way to interact with people in a meaningful way. I found it to be tremendously rewarding.”

Confident that she possessed the multifaceted skill set needed to succeed as an agent, Mary obtained her real estate license in 2003. Since then, she has boasted a wildly successful career, most recently marked by a four-year, solo business venture (alongside her full-time assis-tant). While she credits many factors to her business’s growth, three core per-sonal strengths have proven the most influential. The first, Mary claims, is her analytical and detail-focused nature.

“In programming, every little syntax counts – the periods versus the semico-lons, on a very basic level,” shares Mary. “I find myself transcribing the same detailed focus with clients and homes every day. There are so many details not to breeze over, whether it’s preparing a house, the marketing of a home, or the particulars in a contract.”

In addition, authentic relationship building comes naturally to Mary and is at the heart of her marketing strategy. Instead of approaching geographic farming or online advertising with a purely sales-driven mentality, she prioritizes making meaningful, no-strings-attached connections and, eventually, friendships, with prospective clients. This method, she says, has been fruitful, both professionally and personally.

“I love picking up the phone or dropping in to touch base with my sphere, just to show them I care,” says Mary. “My style has always come from being a resource when needed and to not be high pressure. Popping by to say hello with a market update and letting them know that I am here for anything they might need, whether it’s a home value update or reference for a vendor, has been my mission.”

Furthermore, her knack for visualizing annual, “big picture” business goals, brought to life through vision boards, and then breaking them down into actionable tasks has also served as a springboard for her success. Prioritizing daily to-dos, rather than focusing on the overarching goal they ladder up to, has kept her stress and overwhelm to a minimum and spurred productivity.

Mary Clark’s Journey from Computer Engineer to Real Producer

Photography by Anita Barcsa

Written by Jessica Frere

profile

If it wasn’t for her passion for people, Mary Clark might easily have assumed her childhood dream profession: computer engineer. However, with a long-time history of consistently ranking in the top 1%-5% of local real estate agents, it’s safe to say that she picked the right career path.

As the daughter of an engineer, Mary, a Bay Area native, devel-oped an interest in mathematics and technology at an early age. By the time she enrolled in school at Santa Clara Univer-sity, only one college major seemed like a fitting progres-sion: computer engineering, in keeping with the family tradi-tion. However, when the time came for Mary to graduate, find-ing a job in her field of interest proved difficult.

“When I graduated from college, I was working with NASA. Soon after graduation, the dot-com bust completely blew up the industry,” shares Mary. “I was living at home, similar to many of my classmates. When my par-ents started charging me rent to stay at home -- this incentivized me to go out there and get a job.”

Desperate to jumpstart her career, Mary accepted an en-try-level position at a Cuperti-no-based real estate brokerage. There, she was not only exposed to the ins and out of the local home buying and selling market but found an opportunity to utilize her technical prowess while simultaneously building meaningful connections and relationships with people. This combination, uncommon to most solitary, computer programming roles, intrigued her.

“If you do the activities, the results will come,” shares Mary.

With top-notch business acumen on her side, Mary plans to extend her success into the coming year and beyond. However, she aims to achieve it a little differ-ently than before: growing her group by hiring addition-

al team members, specifically administrative support.

“One of the things I have loved about real estate is the oppor-tunity to be successful if you have the skill and desire. I have enjoyed working hard for success and would love the opportunity to expand my team and ability to service more. Maintaining the balance is always my goal, but sometimes challenging.”

“That’s the one thing about this

business. The sky is the limit, and it’s everything of what you make it to be.”


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Additional support, Mary hopes, will provide her with greater work-life balance and the flexibility to devote more energy to her myriad of extracurric-ular pastimes, including attending local yoga and Pilates classes, hiking with her two pet Chihuahuas, running long-distance races (she recently completed the Fort Ord Trail Run’s 25K), and participating on a club soccer team.

In addition to an already jam-packed schedule, she is squeezing in time for one other significant, non-work activity: wedding planning. She recently got engaged to a fellow Realtor, and a summer 2019 wedding is planned.

Amidst a season of personal excitement, Mary plans to harness that same energy to mold and shape her blossoming business, pro-pelling it forward into a new stage of growth and development.

“That’s the one thing about this business. The sky is the limit, and it’s everything of what you make it to be.”

Mary prioritizes making meaningful, no-strings-attached

connections and, eventually, friendships, with

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S A N M A T E O C O U N T Y

A U G U S T 2 0 1 9

Photo by Photography by Busa

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16 • August 2019 www.realproducersmag.com • 17

I eventually dropped off, while my friends became professionals. In their Thrasher Magazine interviews they would say things like, ‘I used to skate with Phil Chen, but he quit.’ I will never forget that.”

“I remember I took a few years off and when I was in college, I regretted not turning pro,” Phil admits candidly. “I told my parents, ‘I’m going to regret this my whole life. I’m going to quit school and go pro.’ But I never did it. And I am going to regret it my whole life. I was too young to enjoy or see what the potential would be.”

Despite the sense of loss from a skateboarding career that never was, Phil’s path has led him to great things: first, a career in fitness, and now, a blossoming real estate business. He still takes lessons from his early years on a skateboard with him every day.

With the nature of a skateboarder, Phil remains willing to take chances when the time is ripe. “I’m constant-ly rolling the dice and taking risks and chances. That’s my nature. I’m not conservative work-wise. I’m al-ways going to take the leap of faith,” he explains.

“The lessons I learned from skate-boarding -- it was determination. Living, sleeping, breathing what you do, it becomes natural and instinctive. In a little way, I got a taste of what being an elite athlete was like. I could go to sleep, dream a trick, and do it the next day. I tell my kids now, try to be the best at whatever you do.”

In college, Phil delved into another physical pursuit: fitness. He studied exercise science with a minor in holistic health and Chinese medicine. He’d go on to attend graduate school for physical therapy and aspired to open an east-west clinic for peak per-formance, combining his knowledge of Chinese medicine with his under-standing of western techniques.

“But before I did that, I cashed out my credit cards to open my own gyms, and that’s where I got the most train-ing for real estate.”

In the fitness world, Phil learned the service business. It was a natural segway to shift from personal fitness training to luxury real estate. “It’s the same thing,” Phil explains. “Fitness is an art backed by science. Real estate is an art backed by quantitative analysis.”

During his years as a gym owner in the San Francisco financial district, Phil was also able to (unknowingly) begin to build his real estate client database. Phil’s private personal training studios catered to Fortune 500 CEO’s, bankers, brokers, lawyers, and other affluent clientele.

“I was just in my gym, working and hanging out,” Phil says, tellingly. Eventually, some of Phil’s clients became his business partners. “They would buy real estate, and I would manage it. I had no money back then. That’s how I got my feet wet.”

By 2006, Phil realized it was time to make a choice. With one foot in the fitness world and the other in the real estate world, his attention was divid-ed. As he admits, “I was half-assing [real estate].”

“I had to choose. I took the leap of faith and got into real estate full time in ‘06.”

In 2006, Phil experienced success, but the downturn of 2007 through 2009 would make him think twice about his decision to dive into real estate. “I thought, what am I doing? Those were rough years.” But instead of getting discouraged, Phil doubled down on his commitment.

“I am an eternal optimist… I always think the sky is blue and it will work out. There are often times of high stress, but for the most part, I always

feel Everything’s Gonna Be Alright (Quoting the Bob Marley song).”

Phil opened his own boutique broker-age, Sybarite, without ever working for a larger brokerage, using the knowledge he accrued mainly on his own through his family’s investments, observation, intuition, and experience. By 2010, he put himself on the map

as a top real estate agent in the highly competitive area of Hillsborough.

Coming to Compass from Sybarite, which he operated and ran for the better part of a decade, has given Phil a unique perspective on the state of the local real estate market. “Com-pass is a unique speeding freight train right now,” Phil comments.

“I’m fortunate to have had three careers that I was passionate about, became really good at and made into careers.”

Regardless of the brokerage where he hangs his license, Phil knows his rep-utation is what carries him to success. “People trust me. Reputation is so important over any deal or commis-sion. That’s the reason am usually one

of the first choices amongst so many talented agents in the Bay Area.”

Phil stays motivated by staying humble and continually striving to improve in all aspects of his work.

“I’m still hungry, so watch out.”

www.realproducersmag.com • 15

CHENFrom the Street Skate to Real Estate Sales: Continuing to Take the Leap of Faith

By Zach Cohen

Photos By Brandon Busa

Rewind to the early 90s: an era of post-grunge and punk music, the raw, edgy upswing of the street skate-boarding mecca of San Francisco.

As a native San Franciscan teenager growing up in the Bay Area, Phil Chen was already making waves in the skateboarding world. He was not only a competitive skateboarder, but was nationally ranked, and one of the top sponsored amateurs in the nation. He skated alongside legends such as Tom-my Guerrero and Christian Hosoi.

“I was fresh off a second place finish in a national contest and probably a year from turning pro when I was 15,” Phil recalls. “I would come home from school, do my homework, and then have to practice to live up to my sponsors’ expectations.”

Despite his love for skateboarding and the massive success he had achieved, the obligations became too much for a 15-year old that was just coming into his own. Phil admits -- it started to feel like a job. Sponsors and commitments overtook his love for the sport.

“When I got my driver’s license and girlfriends, it became harder to skate.

phil“This is the key: if you want to be good at something, you have to eat, sleep, and dream it.”

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40 • October 2019 www.realproducersmag.com • 41CA

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Photos by Hyunah Jang | Written by Zach Cohen

an industry icon

One of Silicon Valley’s most influential leaders, Carol Burnett, has carved out an illustrious career in real estate. Today, she leads Saratoga’s Com-pass office as Vice President and Managing Broker. Her team is recognized throughout the country as one of the top-producing offices.

Carol’s role revolves around training and guiding the top real estate agents in the business to success. Having been in the business for over four decades, she has a unique perspective on the shifts and transitions in the Silicon Valley real estate market

CARVING OUT A PATH IN A MAN’S WORLD

“I am from the era where most women who went to college were teachers or nurses,” Carol begins. “But I went to college thinking I didn’t want to be a teacher or nurse. I took Intro to Education...and I was done. It didn’t work for me.”

Carol quickly shifted to business administration — and found herself as the only woman in many of her classes. With the encouragement of her father, she continued on, forging a path for the many business-minded women to follow in her footsteps.

“I think, looking back, how naive I was. As I got to case study classes in my senior year, I looked around and saw I was the only girl. I was lucky that I never really focused on things like that. I knew what I wanted to do and pushed forward.”

After graduating from college, Carol got married and moved to San Fran-cisco, where she ended up working for a real estate development company. She had no masterplan; she simply followed the road laid out in front of her. In her first taste of real estate, Carol helped to develop shopping cen-ters throughout California and Hawaii.

“That was my intro to real estate. I didn’t have a license at that time be-cause my work was in property management and financial packaging.”

WINDING HER WAY

“I got pregnant, and I quit,” Carol recalls.

And yet, she kept getting calls from industry connections to come back to work. Eventually, Carol took on real estate work again, part-time. But her plan was evident at the time: To be a mom and a community volunteer. Her career aspirations took a back seat.

“In the meantime, my brother went to work for CB Commercial. My dad, who had been in corporate America his whole life, retired and went into low key commercial real estate — small motels and office buildings. Now, my whole family was in real estate.”

In 1972, Carol and her family moved to Saratoga. By 1974, she was in real estate sales. A friend had introduced her to a local broker, and she decided to give it a shot.

“At the end of the day, when

you drive home, where you go

to is everything. You could just

have had the worst, crummiest

day. If you are in a place at the

end of the day when you drive

in, you love that flower garden,

or maybe you’re in the city and

love the buildings or the nearest

Starbucks...that’s your soul, that’s

what keeps you going.

And so to be a part of

homeownership in someone’s

life, to think because of me,

you love where you live, how

great is that? That’s what keeps

me going.”


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“My kids were four and six when I started. They were little,” Carol ex-plains. “It became lots of fun. It was an absolute fit for me. I was really lucky.”

WORDS OF WISDOM FROM AN INDUS-

TRY ICON

After more than four decades, Carol Burnett is still passionate about the work she does in the real estate in-dustry. Her fire for helping others and running a dynamic business is as alive as ever. Her love for problem-solving and finding creative solutions offers her never-ending fulfillment.

“I think for me, first of all, let’s go way back. I love business. I am very stimulated by it. In grade school, I was always the one starting neigh-borhood businesses — selling flowers door-to-door, doing a little play and selling tickets. New ideas have always inspired me. I spent a lot of time with my dad. I would ask to go to work with him on the weekend to see what his office was like. I’m definitely stimulated by what’s going on in the world.”

“One of the things I’ve loved about real estate...it’s different every day. You get to work both inside and out-side. You aren’t stuck in a cubicle all day long.”

“On the other hand, one of the chal-lenges you have as a manager in real estate is that your product walks out the door every night and you hope it comes back. Truly.”

“What drives me now…I’m more intrigued by the agent piece and the grassroots problem-solving piece. That’s what I get to do all day long. Work with agents and figure out how to solve the situation...How can they do more? How can we help more people?”

An industry icon, Carol Burnett’s list of awards include the President’s

Award from the Los Gatos/Saratoga Board of REALTORS®, the Tribute to Women and Industry (TWIN) award by the YWCA (presented annually to 40 outstanding Silicon Valley women), and The San Jose Business Journal award acknowledging Carol as one of 50 Outstanding Silicon Valley Women in Business. She’s held numerous positions and chaired many committees in the Silicon Val-ley real estate organizations, includ-ing Secretary-Treasurer of the Silicon Valley Board of REALTORS® and a long-standing member of the PRDS Standard Forms Committee.

Q&A WITH CAROL BURNETT

SVRP: When did you start your career

in real estate?

Carol: I worked for a real estate shop-ping center developer in San Fran-cisco and in Marin County, beginning in the late ‘60s. I got my real estate license in 1974...and that’s when I began selling residential real estate in Saratoga and Silicon Valley.

SVRP: What are you passionate about

right now in your business?

Carol: I’m passionate about helping both buyers and sellers: Every person deserves to own a home. If I can help with that, I feel very fulfilled… it’s an amazing feeling. Sellers have varied goals — to move up, to move down, to relocate (because of a job/to be near grandchildren). For me, it’s so exciting and rewarding to play a part in those decisions and to help them create the desired result.

SVRP: What is your morning ritual?

Evening ritual? Unplug ritual?

Carol: For me, the most important part of my ritual happens at night. I work out (with a trainer), I create quiet time, I reflect on my day, and I make notes/lists on what I want to accomplish the next day. What I love about this routine is by “download-ing” my brain (on paper) at night, I easily go to sleep…and, then, when I wake up, I’m somewhat on “autopi-

lot.” I don’t have to think about how to start my day because it is all written down. I wake up ready to go…high on energy!

SVRP: How does real estate fit into your dreams

and goals?

Carol: Real estate definitely intertwines with my dreams and goals. It’s now a part of me. Even when I am traveling — in China, in Paris, in Italy, I find it fascinating to visit real estate offices and to find opportunities to visit individual properties.

SVRP: What is your favorite place in the world?

Carol: For me, the San Francisco Bay Area is my favorite place in the world. I feel so lucky to live and work here. Outside of the Bay Area, Italy is my favorite. One of my children is married to a girl from Italy, and they live in Milan. Italy is an amaz-ing country!

SVRP: Define success

Carol: For me, “success” is first finding/creating an opportunity to do work that you love and, second, creating greatness at what you do! Having just watched the Masters (golf), when I think of the word “success,” the person who comes to mind is Tiger Woods…amazing!

SVRP: What’s next?

Carol: I don’t know…and I love that answer! I thrive on change...love to experience the new and the unknown.


D A N I E LR U M E R

Learning Through Experience

Written by Nick Ingrisani

game changer

“My wife always asks me ‘Why do you change your own oil?’ Well, because I like to. It’s time-consuming, but I like to get down and do it myself. Everything I do, I do in a hands-on way.”

When he’s not working on his next homebrew or going for a joyride with one of the local car clubs, Daniel Rumer is focused on two things: his family and his career.

Like many real estate agents today, Daniel Rumer spear-headed his real estate business from a diverse marketing and sales background. After getting his degree in marketing from San Jose State, he got into door-to-door sales selling office supplies. While it was some of the hardest work he’d ever done, it did “lay down the foundation” for the rest of his career.

From there, Daniel moved to Whole Foods, where he ran a sales

team of 12 people. He man-aged the buying and sched-

uling processes for two of their store locations in California. After his stint at Whole Foods, he worked for a distribution com-pany and continued to hone his sales skills as a craft beer

sales manager for high-end breweries,

selling to both large and small companies.

Daniel’s career eventually reached a tipping point where

he hit the ceiling of what was possible for his career at the distributor. He felt that there was more that he could provide to the world that extended beyond specific products.

Coincidentally, Daniel and his wife were work-ing through the process of purchasing their first home. When they finally closed the deal and got the keys, Daniel realized how important buying a house is for your life. As far as life purchases go, there is nothing more meaningful. He got his real estate license shortly after the purchase, though it was years before he actually transitioned to the career full-time.

The early days were tough, but Daniel grinded through the hard times and leveraged his social net-work find his first clients. It was about six months before he got his first paycheck, but since then his business has been growing steadily. Three years into his career in 2019, he’s already tripled sales totals from his first year.

When asked about why he’s so passionate about real estate, here’s what Daniel had to say:

“I’m very family-oriented and I want to be a part of helping people have the opportunity to grow a fam-ily in a nice home. My goal is to accomplish what my clients are striving for. Buying a home isn’t something you do every day. It’s something that you’re putting a lot of your own hard-earned sweat, love, and tears into. So I’m a really good listener, and have a knack for finding what my clients are looking for and pinpointing it down.”

In addition, 90% of his clients are first-time home buyers and for Daniel, they’re the most exciting type of client to work with. He likes to be an inte-gral part of the process for them, providing the sup-port and motivation they need to find the perfect fit for their needs.

Looking into the future, Daniel is excited to contin-ue to grow his business as his family grows along with it. He got married to his wife in 2012 and now

has a two-year-old daughter in the family. One of the perks of working in real estate that Daniel enjoys is flexibility. When his daughter was born he was able to take six months off to be with his family, calling the opportunity “a huge bless-ing.” But they haven’t changed their lifestyle much since bringing their daughter into the world. Instead, they just take her along for the ride in everything they do.

Beyond real estate, Daniel enjoys a plethora of hands-on activities to keep his mind sharp and relax after work. He’s been into cars since he was a kid and rebuilt his first car – a 1970 Chevy El Camino – with his dad when he was 16-years-old. Now he’s got a decked-out garage with all the tools and space he needs to work on his BMWs and Subaru. Daniel frequents local car meet-ups for inspiration and loves the relaxing allure of a scenic drive.

Cooking is another activity that Daniel uses to mellow out after a long day. Unlike his wife, who is more structured and organized in the kitchen, Daniel likes to freestyle with his cooking and let his creativity flow. No two dinners are the same when Daniel is in the kitchen. No matter what’s going on in his life, he likes to be involved in a direct and intimate way. It took quite a bit of persuading from his wife to convince him to hire a gardener to maintain their yard and pool, but he’s come to appreciate the help.

The future is looking bright for Daniel as he keeps his sights set on growth in the coming years.

“When you see what others have accomplished, you want to fill their shoes and follow suit as well. And that’s exactly what I’m looking to do.”


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